It Could Be Sweet
by AJ Maxwell
Summary: Betrayed and weary, Koshino leaves his ex best friend and lover on their anniversary. Starting a new life, can he get over his past and build a future, with no less than his equally betrayed and weary boss?


Disclaimers: I don't own Slam Dunk. I am not making money out of this, so please don't sue. No copyright infringement intended. Original part of the fiction is the property and is copyrighted to the author. 

Author's Notes: This is inspired by "It Could Be Sweet," by Portishead. Advanced happy KoshMaki day! (0604) which can also be considered a KoshFuji, KoshAkagi, and KoshUozumi day sweatdrops

Dedication: For delusionallady

Warnings: Sendoh's not nice, and neither is Fujima. The pairings mentioned are MakiKosh, SenKosh, MakiFuji, KyoJin, and RyoAya.

* * *

It Could Be Sweet  
by AJ Maxwell 

_I don't know how many times I've caught him cheating on me. _

_I've stopped counting how many times I've seen lipstick smears on his clothes. I've tried to forget the times when he suddenly wouldn't let me be on top, and lying about his being sore down there. I've turned deaf to the murmurs--and sometimes outright exposés--of my colleagues regarding his "extracurricular activities." I've gladly become blind to the few times that I actually caught him with someone else, only for him not to introduce me as his life partner, but as just a friend._

_"Meet Koshino Hiroaki. My friend."_

_His friend, he says._

_So, we're supposed to be only friends now, after five years. Well, blast him._

_He can't even pass as a good friend anymore, and he has the utter gall to call me his friend. His _friend

_It's our fifth anniversary today._

_And there isn't gonna be a sixth._

_It's my first day today. I am practically starting from scratch. It's my first day at my new job, for a new branch, located in a new prefecture very far away from the life I left behind in Kanagawa. Rather, it's not really a life. It's a past._

_It's also my first day as a single man. I left Akira in bed last night, who slept soundly after I added the right amount of sleep-inducing drugs into his food, the dinner that I so painstakingly prepared for our fifth anniversary. When I was sure he was in deep sleep, I took out my already packed bags from the closet, checked my approved transfer letter and airplane ticket, and proceeded to wait outside the apartment for the cab that I instructed to arrive an hour and a half when I called before dinner._

"Koshino-_san_, isn't it?"

Koshino was jolted from his thoughts as someone greeted him from behind. He turned around to find a man smiling amiably at him. He smiled back. "_Hai. Anata no namae wa nan desu ka?_"

"Aida. Aida Hikoichi. _Yoroshiku._" He bowed.

Koshino bowed back, returning the courtesy. "_Yoroshiku._"

"I'm so glad that you've already arrived, Koshino-_san_," Hikoichi said as they made their way to the hangar. "Truly, the whole team has been anticipating your arrival. We've been painfully in need of another researcher/developer, and it doesn't help our team that nearly half are pirated away by that new automobile manufacturer. So, tell me," They entered an extremely large room that could fit an airbus. Koshino looked around in awe. "How was it in the Kanagawa branch? I heard it's not as big as this branch in Suzuka."

"That's right, Aida-san. It's not as big as this," he replied, his eyes still taking in the vastness of the place. "It can't be even considered big, period. I dealt in developing engines, so there's not much space needed. All my team had to do was have the specs approved and shipped to the closest testing area. I gather you test and improve all aspects of the products here?"

"That, we do!" Hikoichi chirped. "It's still not working hours, but do you have your locker combination already? We need to retrieve our protective gear. Policy, you know. Besides, it's gonna be _really_ noisy in here later on."

Koshino shook his head. "No, I'm afraid I don't have that yet. I haven't met with our boss."

Hikoichi clapped a hand to his forehead, appalled. "Oh, I almost forgot!" He quickly searched his pockets, and found a small notepad. Opening it, he scanned through it, and exclaimed, "I should have checked first! Maki-san is waiting for you at his office. He told me yesterday to take you there."

Koshino nodded, a faint smile on his face. "Lead the way."

_I've been expecting someone nerdy. You know, tall and wiry, with black-rimmed glasses, either too short or unkempt hair, with a pallid complexion, and dark circles under the eyes because of work-related stress. Yep, that's me. Koshino, the judgmental. Koshino, the stereotypical mechanical engineer._

_As I enter Maki-san's office, almost all my expectations are shot down, as if by a beam cannon, and only one remains. Maki Shinichi, as he introduced himself, is not nerdy. Heck, definitely not nerdy. He is tall, about five inches taller than my 5 feet 7 inches, but unquestionably not wiry. Beneath the pale blue cotton shirt are big, well-formed muscles. If he hasn't been standing before me as my boss, then I would have pegged him for an athlete, or at the very least, one who regularly lifts weights._

_I'm also wrong about the glasses. His are matte silver and squarish, which are currently in the breast pocket of his lab coat, just peeking out substantially for me to have a look. His hair...I can go on all day about his hair, but I won't. I'll just limit my description to wavy, chocolate brown, and sexy as hell. It's cut neatly, so that it's short at the back and does not overwhelm his features. The waves of his hair are at the top of his head, just brushing over his forehead and part of his eyebrows. And...okay, I said I won't talk about his hair all day. Where am I? Oh. He's deliciously tanned. Now that's what I don't see often. I wonder if it's genetic or he goes to the beach every week..._

_So, I'm wrong on those accounts. What's left?_

_I think he needs to rest. I think he needs to rest more than me, and that's saying a lot._

_I wonder what's going on with him... I wonder what's going on behind those coffee-brown eyes of his..._

"Am I up to your standards, Koshino-san?"

Koshino blinked. _Oops_, he thought. The coffee-brown eyes were pinned on him. He blushed, and tried to compensate by smiling ruefully. "_Eto_..._gomen_, Maki-_san_."

Maki's eyes were expressionless, almost bored as he looked at his the new employee. He handed Koshino a manila envelope, the stern look on his face not softening. "Your locker combination, list of policies, and pending agenda are all in there. If you need assistance, consult Kogure, and he will be able to help you, whatever it is."

Koshino took the envelope. "Would that be all, Maki-san?"

"That's all." The taller man stood. "Welcome to the team, Koshino-san."

Koshino returned the gesture, grateful for his words. "_Arigato_. I'm glad to work here."

_It's nearly a month since I came here. I've met the rest of our research and development team, namely Kogure Kiminobu, Jin Soichiro, Kiyota Nobunaga, and Miyagi Ryota. Of course, there is Hikoichi. We're short of three people more, but Maki-san says that the HR department wants to see if our team can work as effectively as the past team (something about full utilization of resources) before they hire additional members._

_It's good working with them. We've developed pleasant working relationships, and I've found that they're really nice people. We all go out for lunch together, sometimes with Ayako-san, Miyagi's wife, who is the manager of one of our company's motor racing teams._

_We all get along just fine. Kogure, Hikoichi, and I usually watch a movie or just plain hang out in a coffee shop talking about anything-- from manga, engine specs, preferable level of octane content to produce that masculine yet dignified "roar" from a car, J-rock artists, carbohydrate intake, the Prime Minister's hair, up to the endangered state of the blue whale. Sometimes the couple, Jin and Kiyota, join us in one of our movie nights out. And there are times when Ayako-san gives free tickets to motor racing for all of us to watch together._

_I've settled nicely in my new life. There is just one little thing that gets on my nerves._

_My boss hates me._

_No, it's not a 'one little thing.' It's a big thing, a _huge_ thing. Is it just my luck that the man I'm attracted to positively hates me?_

_He doesn't speak to me, and when he has to communicate with me, he does it through a memo. He immediately leaves whatever room I'm in, as if he just smelled something really awful. He snubs me to the point of rudeness, and when I ask my newfound friends about it, they are also confused. They say that Maki-san isn't a rude person, nor has he acted that way towards anybody before. They say that he has always worked with them, and sometimes even hung out with them in their lunch outs or movie nights._

"So why the hell does he keep on ignoring me?" he asked, sounding forlorn. All of them were silent.

He sighed. _Maybe they're tired of hearing me complain about this. Who wouldn't, anyway?_

_Maybe I should just outright ask him, for my peace of mind._

_I've decided that I'm going to ask Maki-san today. I just hope that he doesn't hate me enough to fire me._

Entering the work area in his protective gear (projectile glasses, ear plugs, white lab coat, and protective boots), eerie silence greeted him.

_Where is everybody?_

Koshino blinked, and went back to the locker room to see if any one of his co-workers already timed in. He opened the door, and--

"Ow!"

Koshino fell backwards, and suddenly two strong hands grasped his arms to keep him from toppling over. _Who...?_

"I'm sorry, Koshino. Are you alright?"

He looked up, already knowing just from the voice who was holding him with notable care. What surprised him, as he looked up, weren't the hands that held him, but rather, the eyes that looked upon him. He swore he'd never had anyone look upon with him with such tenderness, with such reverence, and with an almost palpable protectiveness. And the owner of the eyes that were gazing at him so was the last person he expected to be staring at him like that.

Koshino stared back, dumbfounded.

"Koshino? ...Koshino?" The hands shook him gently.

He blinked several times, his eyes never leaving the other's face. "Gomen, Maki-san. I'm okay."

And it was as if he was burned, Maki pulled away instantly, lifting his hands off Koshino's arms and tightly clasping them behind him. "Ah... Never mind that--"

Koshino looked on, the sight of the other man acting anything other than briskly civil towards him fascinated him.

Maki cleared his throat, inwardly cursing his flustered state in front of a subordinate, and of all the people he could bump into first thing in the morning, it had to be the one he'd been avoiding ever since. "--I'm looking for Kogure. Have you seen him?"

Koshino shook his head, his mind roiling with confusion at the recent events of his morning. First, everyone was absent, save for Maki and himself. Secondly, his boss was acting oddly towards him. Not that he did not appreciate the sudden change in attitude, but it was unnerving nonetheless. "No, Maki-san. Even the others aren't here yet as well."

"You mean _all_ of them?"

"Yes, Sir."

Maki's brows furrowed in consternation. "That's strange... That's never happened before."

"Would you like me to call them up to check?" Koshino offered, still feeling slightly in awe that he was actually having some sort of a conversation with the other man.

Maki shifted his gaze to his face again, his coffee-brown eyes penetrating as the gaze turned to a full-blown stare.

"M-Maki-san?"

Maki started at the sound of his name, then adopted a stern expression at the nervous look Koshino was giving him. "Yes, do that. I'll be in my office."

It was as if Koshino was drenched in cold water at Maki's sudden change of attitude, but the other man did not see the stunned look on his face as he was already out of the door.

In the shelter of his office, Maki locked the door and swore under his breath.

He had to get a hold of himself.

_This is unacceptable. I can't go on like this... I can't keep on avoiding him. Everyone's noticed--he's noticed. It'll only be a matter of time before they come to their own conclusions and find out the truth. _

He walked over to his desk and sat down. With his forehead resting on his palms, he recalled the time when Jin and Kogure confronted him on the matter the past week.

_"Really, this isn't like you," chided Jin. "Do you have anything against him?"_

_"No, of course not!" he defended himself. "If I had anything against him, you know I wouldn't let it interfere with work."_

_"Then what is the problem?" Kogure asked, his brown eyes looking concerned behind his glasses. "We've noticed, and Koshino's noticed, too. This is really troubling him. He thinks you hate him."_

_"But I don't hate him--"_

_"Then why do you act like you do?" Jin said, a bit exasperated. _

_"I don't!"_

_"Then why--"_

_"Just leave me alone!" he bit out, which surprised the other two men as they knew their boss and friend to be unflappable._

_"Just... please," he said calmly, almost imploringly, "Let me handle this. I won't do it again, okay?"_

_"It's not that." It was Kogure. "We're just wondering why all of a sudden--"_

_"Please?" he asked, more insistently this time._

_The two shrugged, and patted his shoulder in a gesture conveying that they would let it go._

Maki sighed. "Knowing the two of them, they'd probably conspire against me to find out exactly why," he said softly to himself. _It's one thing to lust after Koshino, and an entirely different thing to act on it._

He knew, even before he caught Koshino checking him out, that he wanted him. During the preliminary introductions, he sensed something in Koshino that was begging to be touched, begging to be held, and yet his body language suggested that he wanted everybody to keep away, like he warded off anyone who would take interest.

It was that mix of contradiction that intrigued him, that beguiled him to take a second look, and look he did. Then he realized that he was getting aroused, and that the man in front of him was definitely checking him out.

And that had given him a problem in his pants that he had tried to will away.

The sight of Koshino blushing was almost too much for him. By that time he really wanted to throw the other man on his desk and have his way with him, but then he could not afford that. After that brief orientation he resolved not to be in the same room as the other man for a long period of time, as long as he acted like a hormone-crazed teenager every time he saw Koshino.

_But that has to change, and soon, _he reprimanded himself. _What if he confronts me about it? Or worse, request another location transfer?_

The thought of Koshino leaving the company gave him a feeling of dread almost as bad as when he caught Fujima with--_No, I am NOT thinking about that. I don't know anyone named Fujima Kenji, and I sure as hell wasn't taken for a fool by his angelic blue eyes and creamy skin and..._

Maki gnashed his teeth in bitter anger. The pain was still there, though dulled by seven months of running himself ragged in his work. But sometimes, there were still those instances when he would remember everything. Then he would see, in his mind's eye, the night he came home to their apartment, that all those rumors about Fujima cheating on him were true.

He was content with just his work to keep him company. Of course, his friends were there, and they helped him get over Fujima, but it was difficult. He shunned all those dates that Jin and Kiyota arranged for him, preferring to be by himself.

He also became a bit more of a loner as time progressed, and he went to the nights out and motor races less and less. His reclusive actions were further supported when his staff got pirated by a competing company one by one.

Seven months of being alone, and he really _ was_ quite content. His life had never felt so peaceful. _Until Koshino came along._

_What should I do? I can't avoid him anymore._

:knock:knock:knock:

"Come in," came the deep voice from the other side of the door. Koshino swallowed the nervous lump in his throat, and opened the door.

He stepped inside, looking apologetic. He closed the door behind him, and said, "I called each one of them, Maki-san. Jin-san and Kiyota-san are on their way. Kogure-san said he couldn't come to work today, because his dog got sick and he had to take it to the veterinarian. Aida-san said his cold got worse, so he's staying home to recuperate. Miyagi-san said that he's coming to work after lunch, because he had to take Ayako-san to the doctor. He said that she might be pregnant."

"Really?" Maki said, sounding surprised and pleased. "That's great to hear. I'll call Miyagi later to take the full day off. He and Ayako deserve some time together, especially if she _is_ conceiving. As for the others, I understand, but it's really highly coincidental, with almost all of them getting sick or having to take care of someone."

It was the first time that his boss sounded like that towards him. It felt like it was Maki-san's natural temperament, and he only hoped that it wasn't short-lived.

"You may go now," Maki said, his voice shifting back to stern formality. Koshino quelled the urge to groan.

It seemed that Maki noticed his discomfort, and asked, "Is there anything wrong, Koshino-san?"

"Why do you hate me so much?" he blurted out, sounding exasperated and impatient.

His boss's eyes widened at his outburst, but chose not to comment.

Koshino went on, willing away his embarrassed blush. "I'm sorry for sounding...insolent there. I just...well, I'm sorry, Maki-san. I hope that you won't get angry with me--"

"No, it's okay," Maki interrupted him. "You're free to discuss whatever it is that bothers you, especially matters related to work."

"Well, Maki-san, I've been settling nicely in my job here. My co-workers are all very helpful and friendly. They have outdone themselves in making me fit in, and I am very happy with that. However..."

"However?"

Koshino looked down at his nervously clasped hands, not meeting Maki's liquid brown eyes. "However, it seems to me that you--what I mean is, you..."

"You think I hate you," Maki said, his voice and facial features resigned.

Koshino quickly looked up, his eyes fearful, yet curious at the same time. "Do you?" he breathed out. _Kami-sama, I hope not! Please, don't let him hate me!_

"I see." There was silence for a few moments, one which made Koshino almost stomp a foot and demand an answer. He knew he was treading on thin ice, so he held himself back, but barely.

Maki sighed heavily, and removed his glasses.

With the full power of those damnable brown eyes directed at Koshino, Koshino almost missed the following words addressed to him.

"I apologize that my previous actions made you think that, Koshino-san. I did not realize that they had that effect on you. Perhaps I really am working myself too hard these past several months, as Jin has often told me."

_So far so good, _Maki thought offhandedly. "To rectify that, and as a gesture of my sincere apology..." So, it was with growing horror when, as if the world went slow motion and made everything move and sound grindingly slow, the following words slipped out of his lips: "...let me make it up to you. Dinner. My treat."

He really could not help it. He cringed after saying those words. _Maki Shinichi, what the hell were you thinking!_ Still, to his good fortune, Koshino was looking at his clasped hands on his lap, mind occupied with something, so he missed the look on his boss's face.

_Cheating boyfriends won't be the death of me; _I_ will be the death of me. _

"But, Maki-san, really, there's no need--"

Maki swallowed the grimace on his face, and plowed on. _What else can I do, anyway?_ "I insist, Koshino. Consider it a gesture of friendship." _Friendship. Right. Let's see how long you maintain this 'just friends' crap you're spouting, Shinichi._

_Well, _Maki thought blearily, as he was half-awoken by movement in front of him. _it lasted for about a little less than two hours. Is that good enough?_

His right arm tightened around the warm body in front of him, as his hand lingered over a smooth, flat stomach and went upwards to stroke a nipple. "Maki...let me up."

"Hmm...you feel so good, Koshino," he moaned into his bed partner's nape, as he slid his right leg between his partner's thighs. _Damn, I'm hard again._

Koshino turned around to face him, and the two of them gasped as their erections rubbed against each other. "We need to talk first," he managed to get out, his voice hoarse.

"Can't it wait after this?" Maki breathed out, his lips seeking his partner's. "Want you..."

"Okay..." Koshino acquiesced, as he kissed his partner hungrily. "After this..."

"I don't get it," Kiyota told Jin, his boyfriend for two years, as another lap of the race was done. The sounds of the engines were usually music to his ears--as they should be, for he lived and breathed making engines--but he could not enjoy himself that cloudy afternoon. Two people, in particular, were confusing the heck out of him.

"What was that?" Jin shouted to him over the din of excited spectators, as two motorcycles fought for every inch of the circuit.

The noise died down somewhat after one of the motorcycles went off course then down. By that time, Kogure noticed that Kiyota's mind was not on the race.

"Kiyota, is something bothering you?"

The man just shook his head, and scowled at Kogure. "Can you figure those two out? They don't make sense!"

Understanding dawned on Kogure. "Maybe because they're still a new couple, and they're not yet comfortable in letting people know?" was his reply, but as he said it, he was not sure himself.

"They've been screwing for six months!" Obviously, Kiyota was exasperated.

Kogure only nodded his agreement.

"They're even sitting far from each other," Jin commented, albeit preoccupied, his eyes intent on the race. "As if they don't know that we know."

Kogure shrugged. He was going to say something in reply, but was interrupted by the drop of water that landed on his eyeglasses.

It started to rain.

"Ne, Shinichi?" Koshino called out softly from the opposite end of the bed.

"Hmm?" was the half-asleep response.

"I heard the guys talking earlier today."

"Hmm..." Maki started lazily caressing Koshino's inner thigh.

Koshino groaned. "Can't you get your head out of the gutter for a second?" he complained, even as he felt himself stir, for the nth time that night.

"You started it," Maki replied. He licked Koshino's smooth inner thigh, his tongue making its way teasingly upwards. "You keep breathing over my cock. If this is serious talk, you should have gone home and we could have chatted online."

"This is what I was talking about... Aahhh! Nnnn... Shinichi... We can't even talk without... Oh! Ohhhh yes..." Koshino writhed helplessly as Maki sucked hungrily on his hardness.

After Koshino came and returned the favor, he scrambled, as fast as his wobbly feet could take him, and locked himself in the bathroom.

The sudden departure of his partner, and the sharp shutting of the door penetrated through the orgasm-induced daze over Maki. He gave himself a couple of minutes to recover his breath, then called out. "What's wrong?"

"We have to talk!" Koshino's voice echoed in the bathroom.

"Okay. Let's talk," Maki replied, his voice sounding a lot closer to Koshino.

"Where are you?"

"Just behind this door. This sounds like a long talk. I'm sitting down, okay?"

"Okay."

There were a few moments of silence. Maki began, "You mentioned hearing the guys talking earlier?"

"...Yeah."

"What about it?"

"They're wondering why we haven't come out yet. Kiyota is confused with us."

Maki shrugged, his movement brushed against the wooden door. "That's nothing new."

"What are we, Shinichi? I mean...we barely talk. I just...want to know--"

His chest tightening, Maki asked, "Are you dissatisfied with how things are between us?"

A soft thud echoed through the door, followed by another one. "Honestly, no. I... I don't think I can manage with something deeper...yet. It's a possibility, but not now."

The pressure in his chest lifted, and he sighed in relief. As much as he was attracted to Koshino, as much as he wanted him every minute of the day _and night_ it seemed, as much as he wanted something more with him in the future... "I'm not yet ready, either."

"It's just...my ex..."

_Ah. _The simple confession was the first time either of them mentioned past relationships. Maki thought of his ex, Fujima Kenji, and felt something in him constrict very tightly. "I understand, Hiroaki."

Silence.

Then, "Will there ever be a time when we just sleep together, just sleeping, and not getting each other aroused and going at it 'til the wee hours of the morning?"

The question made Maki chuckle. Indeed, he had wondered about it himself. "Open the door and let's find out."

The End.

* * *

Finished June 02, 2006 


End file.
